"When the Dead Come A Knockin'" Book Review

Title: When the Dead Come A Knockin'
Series: The Veil Diaries #2
Author: B.L. Brunnemer
Stars: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Book Blurb:
My name is Alexis Delaney, and I’m your average 17-year-old girl. Except I’m a Necromancer. Which means I can see the dead, talk to them and help them move on. Well, I used to be able to. Someone has sealed the Veil. Now the dead are stuck here. And with the extra energy floating around town, the ghosts are getting stronger. 

It’s been two months since I came to Spring Mountain to live with Uncle Rory. And the guys, my five best friends, have done everything they can to help since. Things for once were almost normal, my issues with the dead had become routine. Until they all found girlfriends. Now I’m back to hiding everything again. With ghosts leaving their haunting grounds at will, new people asking questions and trying to build my link to the Veil, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to pull this one off. But it can’t get that bad, right?

***

When the Dead Come A Knockin', the second book in The Veil Diaries series by B.L. Brunnemer, starts up just as school is ending for winter vacation. It might be vacation time, but Lexie can't catch a break. The ghosts are impatient to cross and Lexie pushes herself even harder to open the Veil when she finds that a certain ghost with a connection to the guys is stuck. There's a big heap of relationship drama adding to her stress on top of all the ghost problems. The guys all have girlfriends now and not all the girlfriends are happy with how close Lexie is to the guys. And the guys aren't the only ones in a new relationship; things heat up between Lexie and Dylan (who was introduced in book 1). There's trouble in paradise though as jealousy and secrets start breaking up couples. As if that's not enough to keep you interested, there are hints of a mysterious secret admirer that will probably have a larger roll in the third book. 

The strength of this series is in the main characters. Lexie and the guys are well-rounded characters with their own unique flaws and strengths. I love reading about the group dynamics and interactions. In this book, Lexie learns more about the guys, particularly about the painful parts of their pasts. Lexie supports the guys and helps them deal with their own issues just as much as they help her. The way Brunnemer describes the characters and writes the dialogue really helps them come to life on the page.

Another thing Brunnemer does well is writing vivid descriptions. In this book, Lexie finally accesses her center and she starts the process of opening the Veil. The author paints a clear picture of what the Veil looks like and I was easily able to imagine this new place and how Lexie's actions affected the ghostly realm. Characters are also described in detail, though sometimes the descriptions were almost excessively detailed. 

When the Dead Come A Knockin' is much longer than the first book (over 400 pages!) but the story moves quickly and I hardly noticed the time passing. The book is well paced and there are plenty of scenes with fun and laughter interspersed among the moments of drama, danger, and struggle. The book ends on a melancholy note, but the epilogue and two chapters from the guys' (Asher and Miles) points of view lifts the tone a bit and hints that the platonic friends-only dynamic between Lexie and all the guys might start changing in book 3. 

While there were many things I liked about this novel, there were still some issues that detracted from my reading experience. To begin, there were still the same issues with paragraphs, punctuation, and grammar that I saw in the first book. There is an improvement in paragraph organization in this book compared to the first, but some paragraphs were still too lengthy and dialogue sometimes gets lost in the paragraphs. There were also some inconsistencies in the story, like it being Thursday at the beginning of a chapter and then one paragraph later, Lexie is waking up on Saturday, or Lexie being so surprised that the guys can see a ghost at one point when it is not the first time it has happened (they saw the really evil ghost when she haunted them in Miles' living room in book 1). 

Additionally, there is the issue of Lexie's coffee consumption, which goes to the extreme at one point in this book and results in the guys pinning her down to try and make her nap (a scene which seemed too excessive and not well justified, in my opinion). As I pointed out in my review of the first book, Lexie's coffee addiction goes well beyond the safe and healthy limits. There are several times where she easily drinks enough coffee to give a grown man a caffeine overdose. 

Lastly, I was not a fan of how the guys' girlfriends are portrayed. With the exception of one, they all hate Lexie and act really nasty. While the main characters are well developed, the side characters either end up falling in the pro-Lexie camp and are really nice and great or in the anti-Lexie camp and are horribly mean and petty. I wish there was a little more development of the side characters so that they could be as interesting as Lexie and the guys. 

Even though When the Dead Come A Knockin' needs some more editing, it is still worth reading. It's an interesting story with engaging characters and I look forward to seeing what happens next in the following book in the series. 
 

"Trying To Live With The Dead" Book Review

Title: Trying To Live With The Dead
Series: The Veil Diaries #1
Author: B.L. Brunnemer
Stars: 3 out of 5
Book Blurb:
Hi, I’m Alexis Delaney. I’m your average 17 year old girl. Except I can see the dead. And talk to the dead. And push them away and, well, help them move on. So..okay, I’m not your average 17 year old girl. For years I’ve been struggling to survive the souls still roaming around. The shitheads always seem to find me. Moving from town to town every few months never helped either. More dead just always find me. But things are changing for me now. I’m moving in with my uncle Rory and cousin Tara. I’m finally going to be able to do normal teenage stuff I’ve been missing out on. Right? 

Well, if this one bitch of a ghost could leave me alone on campus that would be great. Especially since I haven’t told my new friends about my abilities. Can you believe this? Five good looking guys practically adopt me on my first day of school, and I still think they’re a bit nuts for it. Now if I can only just keep my life with the dead from mixing with my normal life everything would be great. Yeah...I don’t see that happening either. But I’m going to give it a shot. Who knows? It might work. 

***

I'm a big fan of ghost stories so I was excited to start reading "Trying To Live With The Dead." To be honest, I I read the book a second time before writing this review because I was feeling conflicted and not sure how to rate it. There's a lot of great things about this book but several drawbacks too, which kept me from giving more than 3 stars.

As I mentioned before, this book features ghosts - and not all of them are friendly like Casper. I think Brunnemer does an excellent job describing the ghosts and how Alexis' abilities to see and communicate with the dead work. She actually feels the pain the ghosts feel and see their memories, which is pretty painful and gruesome considering how bad a lot of the ghosts' deaths are. If you're squeamish, then be forewarned that there are a several not-so-pretty descriptions in the story, though none are too horrifying or gross. 

Alexis, who is called Lexie by a lot of the characters (though the guys all have a nickname for her), is a kick-butt girl. She doesn't take crap from anybody and knows how to put bullies in their place. She's a strong character and is also loyal with a big heart, but she's not perfect, which would be unrealistic. She's got her flaws, including a quick temper and major stubbornness. She's had a tough life with her dad dying when she was young and an abusive mom with an alcohol and drug problem, leading her to stay with her Uncle Rory (who is awesome btw). Lexie also curses A LOT; it's not a flaw so much as another warning to readers who might be off-put by strong language. 

The guys are another big part of this story. There's Isaac, the goofball who does MMA fighting, and his twin brother Ethan, who is in a band and has all the ladies texting him constantly. Next, there's Asher with his boy-next-door good looks who plays football but whose real passion is cooking. Zeke is the intimidating guy of the bunch who works at an auto-shop and has his own anger-management issues. Lastly, there's sweet Miles who is super smart but has issues talking with people, especially girls. He's a bit confusing though because despite his social awkwardness he also points out when others are being rude and talks about social cues and dynamics like a psychologist. Each guy is distinct and the relationships among them and between them and Lexie are well-developed. Lexie has a lot of issues with all the ghost stuff going on and the trouble from her past, but the story doesn't just revolve around the guys taking care of her. She helps them just as much and it's nice to see how they all support each other. 

This story is categorized in the Reverse Harem genre (meaning one girl in a relationship with multiple guys), but there's pretty much zero romance in this first book. In fact, the guys are interested in other girls and Lexie finds her own guy who she flirts with. Any affection shown is on the friend level. There's no insta-love here! It's nice to see that the author isn't rushing the romance and is instead building a foundation of friendship and trust first. I'm assuming feelings might start developing in the next book, but we'll see. 

Now that I've gotten through all things to love about this book, I've come to the harder part of talking about the flaws. The story and the characters are amazing, but I wasn't able to enjoy the book fully due to formatting, punctuation, and grammar errors, along with a few other issues. The book (in both Nook and Kindle formats as far as I can tell) isn't formatted very well, mainly in regards to paragraphs. There are some paragraphs, like the very first one that are HUGE chunks of texts while others are chopped up into smaller paragraphs in ways that don't make sense. Dialogue also tends to get lost in bigger paragraphs and I found myself re-reading some lines to figure out who was speaking. There are also a lot of sentences with missing or incorrect punctuation and grammar mistakes like your vs. you're. 

Additionally, I found myself unconvinced by the descriptions of Lexie's injuries and the treatment for her injuries. Lexie arrives at her uncle's house with severe bruising on her back due to dear old mom and the pain is mentioned frequently and icing her back each night for physical therapy comes up as an issue with the guys one night. I bruise easily and have some experience with serious bruises - I was in a dirtbike crash and actually bruised the muscle in my thigh when I flipped over the bike and the handle bar nailed me. I had a limp for several days but by the end of the week I was walking almost normally and the pain was pretty much gone and the color very faded. Bruises normally don't take much time to heal and the pain should fade pretty quickly unless there's a worse issue like a sprain or damage to a muscle or something like that. I don't know who long the delay is between when Lexie got the bruises and she goes to live with her uncle, though it didn't seem like that long, but when I started counting days in the book she was in significant pain for at least three days and after seven days was still icing. Her injuries and the treatment as described weren't realistic and seemed exaggerated solely to create additional tension. 

I found myself concerned too about how much coffee Lexie drinks. A high schooler drinking coffee is not unusual considering a lot of teens and adults drink coffee, and the fact that she doesn't get much sleep because of ghosts. As a person who doesn't drink coffee, I didn't think too much of it at first but I know that too much caffeine can be dangerous so I Googled how much coffee is too much. Turns out there's such a think as overdosing on caffeine and that for most people, you can overdose drinking five cups of coffee in a day, depending on the tolerance to caffeine a person has built up and their BMI. Lexie is described as being small and she frequently has two-three cups a day with extra espresso shots, so even without her other health problems related to ghosts, drinking that much coffee puts her at risk for other serious health issues. Even if she did drink that much, there should be more concern from at least her uncle or her friends about it.

Overall, I really did like reading the story, but I would have enjoyed it more if the aforementioned issues weren't present. The frustrating thing is that they wouldn't have been issues if more editing and research had been done before publishing. I'm definitely going to read the next book and I hope that readers who are interested in the story will still give it a chance despite the flaws.

The Stardust Series Book Reviews

Hello! For this post I am reviewing all four of the currently published books in the Stardust Series (Phoenix, Draco, Pyxis, and Chamaeleon) by Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke! This is in preparation for an exclusive author interview with them that I will be posting soon.

Title: Phoenix
Series: Book 1 of Stardust
Authors: Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
Stars: 2.5 out of 5
Book Blurb: (from Goodreads.com)
The Stardust Series follows the story of Haley Jones and six dangerously appealing guys—Liam, Knox, Ethan, Chase, Theo, and Jackson. 

All Haley Jones wants for her eighteenth birthday is answers. Thanks to an overprotective dad and a secluded existence in the Sierra Nevada wilderness, Haley has never experienced a typical life. Her dad claims there’s a good reason for their isolation, but he refuses to tell her why, delaying her questions with the promise of answers when she turns eighteen. That day has finally arrived, but the explanation raises more questions than answers. And when Haley wishes for the chance to explore the world, she finds that the old adage rings true—be careful what you wish for. 

***

I started reading Phoenix due to the vague but very intriguing blurb. Why do Haley and her dad live alone in the wilderness? What are they hiding from? Are they in the witness protection program? I had to find out.

The book begins on the day of Haley's 18th birthday and readers find out along with Haley that she and her father are in hiding from a dangerous criminal. The danger soon becomes very real when Haley returns home from a hike and finds her home on fire and her father missing. Haley then finds herself in the care of six mysterious and attractive guys who work for a company called Zenith doing... well, we don't actually know.

For those hoping for the action and excitement of the introduction to continue, like I was, you will be disappointed. After Haley moves to Santa Cruz, California with the guys, the action takes a back-seat and the focus turns to Haley finding her place with the guys and learning to trust them, though I have to say I think they earned her trust a little too quickly. While Haley is in hiding and staying safe with the guys, the guys try to find her father and see the reason for Haley's home being attacked. Haley, however, isn't involved much in the search. The book focuses more on character and relationship development than on an action-packed plot.

I liked Haley and found her to be an interesting main character. She's intelligent, loves to read and play board games, knows self-defense, and knows how to make the best of difficult situations. The guys are also an interesting group. There's Jackson, the serious leader; Liam, the wealthy flirt who is the opposite to Jackson; the brothers Knox and Theo, one who is former who is very protective and works on cars, the latter who is friendly and fashion-savvy;  Ethan, the M&M loving playboy; and Chase, the sweet, youngest member of the group. Each character is distinct and has a clear voice, which is helpful since otherwise it could get difficult trying to keep everyone straight.

The book wraps up neatly but doesn't close the story; it's clearly set up for the next book in the series. An epilogue from Jackson's perspective teases what is to come. While I wasn't as impressed with the book as I hoped to be, I still enjoyed it and will give the next book in the series a chance.

Title: Draco
Series: Book 2 of Stardust
Authors: Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
Stars: 3 out of 5
Book Blurb: (from Goodreads.com)
It’s been two weeks since Haley Jones turned eighteen and her life was turned upside down. While searching for her dad, Haley is adjusting to life in Santa Cruz with a new job and friends. Surrounded by six dangerously appealing guys, she’s still trying to figure out just who Liam, Knox, Ethan, Chase, Theo, and Jackson are and what they do. From a twenty-first birthday party to a swanky costume gala, Haley discovers just how difficult it can be to fit in and that maybe it’s okay to stand out.

***

In Draco, Haley gets a job at Zenith doing secretarial work. It's nothing as exciting as what the guys seem to do (though we still don't know what it is that they do because it's top secret). She gets a fake identity and back story so she can have a new start in Santa Cruz, though she has to be careful around her nosy co-worker, Melissa. 

Haley and the guys also grow closer, though she's not a big fan of Jackson yet and Liam's flirting makes her uncomfortable. Her friendship with the guys (and hints of more than friendly feelings) are still the main focus rather than the mystery and danger surrounding Haley's father and his past. Rather, the background danger serves as the reason for Haley to stay safe with the guys. As Haley comes to care for the guys, she faces a couple conundrums. First of all, do they like her too or they just being the kind, awesome guys they are? And secondly, if they do, what will she do and who will she choose?

While there isn't a lot of action, there is a little bit. Some progress is made in the search for Haley's dad. The guys, through Zenith, were hired to find Haley's dad and the guys have the opportunity at a charity gala to question the man who hired them and find out more. I was glad to see Haley push for a more active role and she gets to go on the mission to the gala, albeit as Liam's "date." And when Haley finds out the guys haven't been keeping her in the loop, she stands up to Jackson and demands to be told what's going on, which had me cheering. While I would have rather seen Haley doing more, I was glad to see some improvement in Haley being less passive and the way she stood up to Jackson has me hoping to see a more proactive Haley in the next book. 

Like the first book, Draco doesn't end on a cliff-hanger (thank goodness!) but there isn't full closure because it is set up to lead into the next book. Additionally, we get another epilogue chapter, this time featuring Jackson and Liam. It hints that the guys are feeling more than friendly towards Haley too, which could lead to tension in the group. 

Title: Pyxis
Series: Book 3 of Stardust
Authors: Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
Stars: 4 out of 5
Book Blurb: (from Goodreads.com)
Haley Jones already thought her life was complicated, but after the events of the gala, she is in desperate need of direction—if only there was a compass for locating her missing dad or navigating relationships. Despite her efforts to gain independence and forge her own identity, she still feels adrift in her new life. And, when things heat up with Liam, Knox, Ethan, Chase, Theo, and Jackson, Haley finds herself in uncharted territory, torn between attraction and frustration. When tensions rise within the group, will Haley be the one to pull the guys together or tear them apart?

***

Pyxis is the third book in the Stardust series and it picks up right where book two, Draco, left off. It had been a while since I finished reading the last book and it took me a little time to remember all the different characters -especially since Haley is balancing six(!) romantic interests. We also see the return of Haley's BFF, Jess.

We hadn't seen a lot of Jess in the previous two books. She was Haley's only friend when she lived isolated with her dad, but then Jess left for college. She is a hilarious person, and encourages the new and improved more confident, more outgoing Haley. Haley asks Jess for advice, especially when it comes to the guys, and her feelings for them. It's good that Haley has Jess for support and a friend besides one of the guys. 

With six different swoon-worthy guys in the picture, there's obviously going to be a lot of attention paid to the relationships between Haley and them. I appreciate how the authors have made each character unique. You can also tell that the guys all truly care for Haley. Better yet, the relationships between Haley and the guys are a two-way street and they help and support each other. Too many book relationships seem one sided, probably because we're only in one character's head, but it's not that way with this series. 

The romantic feelings between Haley and the guys are further developed in this book. Haley doesn't seem to be leaning towards one guy more than any of the others (though something dramatic happens with one of the guys near the end!), which could be setting up the story to fit in the "reverse harem" (RH) category. This would mean that Haley doesn't have to choose one of the guys, but that they will all be in a relationship with her. RH books aren't for everyone, so if the idea makes you uncomfortable, then you may not appreciate the next books in the series. It will be interesting to see how the authors go about setting it up.

Over the course of the series, Haley has shown a lot of growth, which readers are reminded of when her best friend humorously asks if she's been taken over by aliens. She's always been intelligent and strong, but she's stands up for herself more and is more confident and comfortable around the guys (except for moments of awkward romantic tension). As a girl who grew up homeschooled and pretty isolated, she's doing a fantastic job of adjusting to a lot of new situations. 

One minor critique I have is that she seems to be adjusting almost too well. Yes, she frets a lot about the guys and her feelings for them, but everything else hardly seems to come up on her radar. The guys will ask her how she's doing and if she wants to talk and it seems that in those moments she finally remembers that she still hasn't found her dad, there's a bad guy out to get him and possibly her too, and that her entire life was upended only a few months ago. 

The pacing of this book was generally good. I would say this book is definitely more character driven than plot driven, but there is more action this time than in Draco. In Pyxis a bad guy emerges and Haley is stuck between a rock and a hard place. There were some points where lots of time was passing (weeks or even months) and I was starting to get anxious for something else to happen beyond the relationship drama. Once I got to that point, however, it usually wasn't too long until a new development would arise and the action would pick up again. 

Overall, I would recommend that people who enjoyed the first two books in the series add the third book to their library as well. But be warned, Pyxis ends on a cliff-hanger (one of my pet-peeves). Book 4 won't be out until 2017, but you can read book 3.5 in the meantime! And book 3.5 resolves the cliff hanger. 

Full disclosure: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: Chamaeleon
Series: Book 3.5 of Stardust
Authors: Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke
Stars: 4 out of 5
Book Blurb: (from Goodreads.com)

Haley
“For the last seven months, my life practically revolved around 'my' guys—they kept me safe, made me laugh, and embraced me as one of their own. And, now, the unimaginable was happening. I was turning my back on the life I created with them. There would be no more duets with Chase, tickle fights with Theo, stargazing with Ethan, running with Knox, relaxing with Jackson, or cooking with Liam. In other words, I was walking away from the place—and the people—that had become my new home.”

Knox
“Theo opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then shut it again. The truth was, there was nothing left to say. We had to either compete for her heart or let her go, and both options were incomprehensible. Even if she chose me, could I live with the guilt of knowing I stole her away from my brother and best friends? And, if she chose someone else, would I ever get over her?”

***

Book 3 ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger and Chamaeleon picks up where Pyxis ended. 

What I find most exciting about Chamaeleon is that this book is not just from Haley's point of view, but from each of the guys' as well. If you've been wanting a sneak peak into Knox's or Jackson's or Liam's or Chase's or Theo's head, well here's your chance! The characters are what really make the Stardust series and in Chamaeleon we get to dive deeper into each character, their thoughts, emotions, and motivations. While having a book switch between so many perspectives could get really confusing, A & J have done a pretty good job of keeping the flow and minimizing confusion. It helps that there are date headers for each chapter to help readers navigate the timeline of events. 

From the beginning of the series the books have been about Haley and the guys, but now we get to see how Haley and the guys act without each other. I liked seeing independent Haley. She's smart and resourceful and while she misses the guys a lot, she sticks to her decision and makes the most of her situation. I also liked seeing how the guys deal with Haley's disappearance and because it's from the guys' pov, we get to see the dynamics of their team a lot more. 

I find myself enjoying each book in the series more than the last. I definitely recommend Chamaeleon for anyone who has enjoyed the previous books and is a fan of RH. A & J are on a roll and I look forward to reading book 4 in 2017! Hopefully we won't have to wait too long into next year for the release...

Full disclosure: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

"Uprooted" Book Review

Title: Uprooted
Series: Standalone
Author: Naomi Novik
Stars: 5 out of 5 
Book Blurb (from Goodreads.com): 
“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

___________________________________________________________

Isn't that blurb awesome?! When I first read it I was super excited, and then instantly disappointed when I realized I had months to go until the book would be published. When I finally got my hands on a copy of Uprooted, I was not at all disappointed, hence the five star review. This book's got it all: action, adventure, magic, and a dash of romance. There's also an engaging plot that kept me turning pages until I finished the book a few hours later as well as  strong, well-developed characters. 

Unlike most books being published lately and that I've read recently, this book is a standalone - though I would be totally happy if Naomi Novik added a sequel. It was refreshing to have a book with a satisfying resolution at the end and no cliff-hanger making you wait in agonizing anticipation until the next book. Overall, the book was well paced. There were one or two spots where it felt a little slow, but it didn't detract much from my overall reading experience. I never once felt like putting the book down for a snooze. 

The setting was also interesting and well-described. This book is set in a fantasy-like kingdom where magic, both good and bad, is a common occurrence. Novik does a great job describing both the smaller settings, like the village and Dragon's tower, as well as the larger, overarching descriptions of the kingdom and land. I could easily visualize the places and people. 

My favorite part was the excellent cast of characters. There's of course the main character, Agnieszka, who is a very realistic character that I found relatable. She's brave, strong, stubborn, and cares strongly for her friends and family, but she's flawed; she gets scared, rushes into things, makes social blunders, etc. Most importantly, however, is the growth I saw in her character as the book progressed; she wasn't at all stagnant. There is also the wizard, Dragon, who is another key character. He's brooding, and grumpy, but what I found most interesting was his obsession with order and fashion. Whereas Agnieszka goes with the flow and is constantly disheveled, Dragon is precise and always perfectly put together. They contrast, but also compliment each other. The romance between them wasn't really a surprise, and while I get the whole "opposites attract" thing, I wasn't fully convinced of why Agnieszka cared so much for him. There are a number of other great characters in this book as well, including the best friend, Kasia, who is important throughout the book and well-rounded, even as side character. There's also the antagonist, who I won't go into much detail about to avoid giving away major spoilers. Let me just say, this book has a great villain, who is not just a flat evil character, but has an interesting backstory and a reason for their evilness. 

This is a book I plan to re-read and I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy fantasy novels with magic and intrigue. I think young adults and adults alike will enjoy this book, however there are some more explicit romance scenes in the book so I wouldn't recommend it for younger teens. 

*Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy via NetGalley.